High-voltage applications such as motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies, and solar inverters may use power semiconductor devices. A variety of power semiconductor devices are available depending on the specific requirements of the application, such as power diodes, power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET), bipolar-junction transistors (BJT), insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), thyristors, etc.
Performance metrics of power semiconductor devices may include operating current and voltage, input and output impedance, switching speed, reverse-bias breakdown voltage, etc. The type of power semiconductor device utilized may be based in part on these performance metrics. Additional factors such as cost and device area may also contribute to the determination of the type of power semiconductor device utilized.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention.